The knife wielder is behind the group, ready to get his blade wet when suddenly, they all come screeching to a halt. In front of them is their target. One of the generals of the organization.
Even with him sitting down, peeling apples, the feeling of death radiating off of him is enough to make a lesser man piss his pants. Not even Cordayl gave off this type of aura.
The knife wielder decides right then and there that he would live to see another day and while everyone has their attention on the enemy, he splits from the group.
Now, on his own, the knife wielder is happy to get some new blood on his knife, killing soldiers off one by one as they all seem to rush to the other side of the base.
Pulling his blade out of his latest victim, the knife wielder smiles and deduces that all these soldiers are heading towards Cordayl. "Perfect. I've been dying to take a slice at him." He smiles as he takes off running.
The knife wielder gets out back into the open and is shocked to see so many unconscious soldiers laid out all over the camp. "Selfish bastard didn't even leave me nobody to knife!" He shouts as he looks around and just stabs some random soldier next to him.
"There! 996!" he smirks, rushing to find Cordayl.
The leader of the group hobbles to where Cordayl and the general ran off, and to her amazement, she sees Cordayl searching his corpse. "You defeated him!?" She asks.
"Why do you sound so surprised? And where's my apple?" Cordayl asks, still rummaging through the dead man's pockets. "Come on, I know you have it on you."
"I left it with the others. What are you looking for?" she asks, limping over.
Cordayl lets out a sound of disapproval, "Top dawgs like this one usually have a hard drive or cell phone with info or at least a contact list," Cordayl tells her.
Finally, he finds it. "Ha! I knew you would have one. I was not expecting it to be around your ankle, though. That's… different." Cordayl states, standing up and putting the file in his pocket.
"Good job, that will help our association a lot in tracking down more members," the boss tells him.
"I bet it would, but it's going to help me out a lot more. I agreed to help you kill him. Our deal ended when his life did." Cordayl tells her.
"Listen, Cordayl, I know you prefer to work alone, but we co-"
"Well, look at that! You were actually able to beat that monster. Very impressive indeed. Your blood on this blade will make me even more legendary." The knife wielder states as he sashays towards them, cutting the apple with his bloody knife and putting it in his mouth.
"You coward! You just ran off and put every one of our lives at stake. We all were nearly killed, you weak piece of shit." The boss berates him.
"Yeah, you all were nearly killed. I walked back to the poor fools, thinking I would find Cordayl there, and there they were, barely holding onto life. My little warm heart was saddened by seeing such strong warriors in such a state. So I did the only humane thing to do and ended their struggle." The knife wielder says in a sad tone.
"You murdered my team." The boss asks in a low rage.
"I just helped them to the finish line. Like any good teammate would." He claims.
"But I didn't break your rule. I mean, they didn't put up a fight at all." He smirks at her.
"I swear you will-" Suddenly, the knife is sticking out of her forehead. The handle is still on fire as she falls backward, her dead eyes staring at Cordayl.
The knife wielder sighs as he tosses the apple behind him. "And one thousand. I'm sorry, Diablo. I was trying to save the last slice just for you. But I swear this knife has a mind of its own." He says as he retrieves the blade from her face.
As he pulls the blade out of her head, the knife wielder watches in awe as the blood that is dripping from its edge reverses direction and infuses with the blade, turning it into a dark shade of maroon. The knife wielder stares at his blade in love.
"Beautiful." He whispers.
Cordayl shakes his head, "That was a bad decision."
"And why is that? Wait, you weren't getting attached to that group, were you?" The knife wielder asks.
"Nope. She was the only one stopping me from killing you." Cordayl tells him.
"Well, she isn't here anymore. So, shall we tango?" The knife wielder smirks.
"Thought you would never ask," Cordayl states.
The knife wielder grabs the dead boss by her shirt, and with a spin, he tosses her straight at Cordayl.
Cordayl ducks the body and the blade right behind it and tries to hit the man with an uppercut. The knife wielder blocks the punch and flipping with the momentum, he tries to take a swing at Cordayl's face. Cordayl dodges the blade an inch from his face and kicks him away.
The wielder recovers quickly and with fiver, tries his best to cut Cordayl. Cordayl is dodging the attacks successfully, but thats when the wielder decides to show his power and add some fuel to his attacks.
With the increased speed, the knife wielder finally lands a hit on Cordayl, and to Cordayl's surprise, he actually bleeds.
Cordayl watches the blood from his abdomen leave the wound and merge into the maroon blade. The wielder smiles and swings the blade. "See, the blood instantly is added to the blade. Come on Cordayl! I want your blood to try its best to quench this blade's thirst!" He yells.
Cordayl grimaces as he motions for the wielder to try it again. The wielder smiles and dives back into combat.
This round is completely different, though. Cordayl is whooping the wielder's ass. Every time he gets back up, he gets knocked back down. The smile is wiped off his face more each time after receiving hit after hit from Cordayl.
Cordayl's next hook sends the wielder flying through a building, and Cordayl waits for him to return. The wielder pushes himself out of the hole in the wall, breathing hard as he mugs Cordayl, who is as cool as an Arctic breeze.
"Don't get smug just yet, you ugly bastard! I still have something up my sleeve for you." He shouts, walking back to stand off against Cordayl. "Wanna know a lil secret?"
"Nope," Cordayl responds.
The wielder wasn't expecting that reply, and it makes him angrier. "Well, I'm going to tell you anyway! You aren't the only Diablo that walks this plain. Let me show you how I earned the title as well." The wielder smirks.
Suddenly all the sound and oxygen evaporate from the grounds as the wielder burst into flames. The wielder continues to burn hotter and hotter, setting everything within the area on fire, the buildings and the dead bodies close enough.
Cordayl watches as the wielder burns hot as he completely powers up. Finally, at maximum heat, the wielder smiles at Cordayl.
"I never liked you being labeled the Diablo. Once that happened, all the work I put in for my rep just burned to a crisp. Well, once I cremate you, I will have snatched my title back, and I will forever be the one and true Diablo!" The wielder shouts in pride, arms spread and head high.
Turning back to Cordayl, he sees him letting out a long yawn. Eyes wide at the sight of disrespect, the wielder grits his teeth and snarls before shooting across the grounds like a fireball.
As he gets inches and inches closer to Cordayl, who is just finishing his yawn, the wielder smiles before he feels an enormous weight slam him into the ground and extinguish his and all the flames around him.
The weight squishing him into the dirt is unbearable as the wielder lies there immobile. Cordayl squats down so that the wielder can hear him clearly.
"You bragging about being the diablo like thats something to be proud of. I hate the title and have hated the world who gave it to me. But the one thing I hate more than this world is the foul people like you who dwell upon it." Cordayl says, leaning over and breaking the wielder's hand to steal his knife.
"You took a thousand lives with this blade. I know some of them want their revenge." Cordayl says, releasing the knife, which comes dropping down like an anchor upon the wielder's leg.
The wielder screams through gritted teeth feeling the knife plunge into his flesh. Cordayl ignores him, pulling the knife out "Look at that, its just as thirsty for your blood as it is for everyone else's." Cordayl tells him, dropping it again on another part of the wielder's body.
Cordayl pulls out the knife once again and stands over the wielder's body, watching his back heave up and down as his body tries to suck in as much oxygen as possible.
Cordayl kicks him over so he can stare him in the eyes. "At least you lived long enough to see if the legend was true. Hope it was worth it."
"Fuck you." The wielder says, bleeding out. "I'll see you in hell." He promises.
"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure my bath water is hot." Cordayl comments, dropping the knife on his forehead and ending his life.
Cordayl surveys the ashy area and finds his burnt-off pants. Retrieving them, he digs into the remains and finds that the hard drive is completely melted.
Sighing, Cordayl decides he isn't leaving empty-handed and goes to search the general's room to see if he can find any more information.
While walking through the stronghold, Cordayl runs into a couple of soldiers late to the party. They are shocked to see him but still put up their weapons.
Cordayl sighs, "Look, your boss is already dead. Just run away and report this. Live to see another day, " he tells them.
"Yeah, right. As if you could defeat General—"The second soldier grabs his companion by the face and gets them out of there.
Finally finding the room, Cordayl opens the closet and takes a pair of the general's giant pants.
Seeing how oversized they are, Cordayl ties them as tight as he can and rips off any extra fabric around his ankles. Starting to search the room for anything, Cordayl doesn't have to look for long when he hears a vibrating noise.
Finding the source of the vibration, Cordayl opens the phone and puts it on speaker.
"About time you answered. I thought I was going to have to send the 6 down there. Status report." A strong old voice commands.
"The general is dead, but feel free to send the 6," Cordayl replies.
"Cordayl." The voice responds. "I didn't imagine that you would be a match for our general. You are truly a hard man to kill."
"I'm sure you know that by now. Let's cut to the chase. These guys of yours are getting stronger and stronger, but you kill snakes by cutting off the head. So let's make a deal. Tell me where to find the head, and I'll let you keep yours." Cordayl threatens.
The voice on the other end of the phone laughs an old hearty laugh. "My, this new generation is a bold one. But I like us cutting to the chase. So I'll oblige you. Right now, you are talking to the head.
"But we aren't a snake. We are a hydra. Take me down, and two more will emerge to continue my duty. But if you truly want to test your might, continue to walk east past that stronghold and eventually you will find a kingdom that used to belong to giants. I am there, and I will be waiting. See you soon young man." The voice says, then hangs up.
Cordayl smiles and crushes the phone in his hands with glee. "Finally, someone with some bravery. I get so tired of all this cat and mousing." Cordayl says, about to walk out of the room.
Seeing that the sun is setting, Cordayl turns around and looks at the generals quarters, seeing the bathroom and his large bed.
"I think I deserve a good shower and nap." He states, turning around to go wash his ass.